Chapter 496: Fire Source Ore Vein

At the same time.

"Bright Moon Divine Power, Mingyue Haoran!"

Qing Luan’s clear voice also rang out. She pointed her sword to the sky, and a blinding light suddenly burst forth from it, so bright that no one could keep their eyes open.

The next moment, a moon the size of a millstone slowly flew out from Qing Luan’s body, radiating a sacred light.

Meanwhile, high in the sky, the two colossal Human-faced Pigeons shrieked from the mountain peak. They circled in a graceful arc, then descended with a massive, rolling tornado that blotted out the sun.

Instantly, a fierce wind howled. On the summit, loose rocks were sent flying, and even towering ancient trees were completely uprooted and thrown into the air.

The two Human-faced Pigeons were powerful, likely at the Sixth Layer of the Refining Dust Realm. Xuan Ye and Qing Luan’s combined strength was probably not enough to defeat them.

Shen Daoxing flipped his palm, summoning his Great Ming Demon Sparrow, and was about to move forward.

But just then, Fu Ren and Fu Yi, who were in front of him, suddenly shouted in unison, "Celestial Spirit Profound Armor!"

As they spoke, a brilliant light erupted from their hands as they thrust them upward. Immediately, a shimmering white Profound Armor Shield appeared above Shen Daoxing’s head, covering everyone.

The next moment.

RUMBLE!

With a deafening roar, the two Human-faced Pigeons and their hurricane violently collided with the Great Sun and the Bright Moon.

The mountaintop suddenly erupted in a blinding explosion, bursting into a dazzling firework display of light. Large swaths of ancient trees collapsed instantly. A tremendous force blasted outwards, sending rubble and plants flying everywhere. It was as if the entire mountain was about to be leveled, and the ground itself trembled from the shock.

Even from within the Profound Armor Shield at the base of the mountain, Shen Daoxing could feel the surging, tempestuous power.

The next moment.

"Run!"

Qing Luan’s clear voice rang out from halfway up the mountain.

Before Shen Daoxing could even react, Fu Ren and Fu Yi, who seemed to have been prepared, suddenly appeared at his sides. They grabbed him by the arms without any hesitation and took off, running away from the mountain.

’???’, Shen Daoxing thought.

Meanwhile, up on the mountainside, the massive, explosive fireworks of the collision still billowed.

The next moment.

WHOOSH! Qing Luan and Xuan Ye shot out from the blast on their Flying Swords, fleeing the mountain and following behind Shen Daoxing’s group.

The enraged roars of the Human-faced Pigeons followed them.

The Human-faced Pigeons were ancient Fierce Beasts. Although only remnant souls remained of them now, they still possessed the strength of the middle-to-late Refining Dust Realm.

It would not have been easy for Qing Luan and Xuan Ye to deal with them. Moreover, the Half-Immortal Soldier had already been snatched by Sikong Ao, so there was no need for them to engage in such an arduous and thankless fight. Of the thirty-six stratagems, retreating was the wisest course of action.

Besides, a prolonged battle here might attract the attention of Void City.

The figures of Qing Luan, Xuan Ye, and the others leaped through the mountain forest, bobbing up and down before quickly vanishing into the sea of green.

Only when the group was certain that the two Human-faced Pigeons had finally given up the chase did they begin to slow down.

"Damn it! We worked so hard to get that Half-Immortal Soldier, and that bastard Sikong Ao just came out of nowhere and stole it! That Sikong Ao is so despicable! That son of a bitch! Damn that Sikong Ao! I hope he dies a horrible death!"

The moment he stopped, Fu Ren couldn’t help but start cursing. He cursed everyone from Sikong Ao’s ancestors for eighteen generations down to his wife and children. When he was done, he still wasn’t satisfied and viciously kicked a huge boulder nearby a few times, only to end up howling in pain.

A moment later, seeing that everyone else had caught up, Fu Ren turned to them with an apologetic look. "I’ve failed you all. We finally managed to get that Half-Immortal Soldier, and I lost it."

He lowered his head, his face full of guilt.

Seeing this, Qing Luan immediately shook her head. "Fu Ren, this isn’t your fault. None of us expected Sikong Ao to suddenly show up. And with his strength, none of us are a match for him. It was an irresistible force, and he’s not someone we can afford to provoke. We’re already incredibly lucky that we all managed to escape safely."

But Fu Ren still looked guilty. He couldn’t help but look at Shen Daoxing. "I’m sorry, Little Junior Brother. You risked your life to get that Half-Immortal Soldier from the Human-faced Pigeons, but I lost it. It’s all my fault!"

Shen Daoxing shook his head, signaling that it didn’t matter. He just silently repeated Sikong Ao’s name in his mind, committing it firmly to memory.

However, even though they had made a narrow escape from the Human-faced Pigeons, Qing Luan was still deathly pale, and her aura was weak. She seemed to have sustained considerable injuries. The moment she landed, her face suddenly flushed, and she opened her mouth to spit out a large mouthful of blood.

Fu Ren and Fu Yi were also panting, their faces somewhat pale. They weren’t injured, however; they were just exhausted from running so fast.

Liu Ying stepped forward and suggested, "We should find a place to rest first."

Fu Ren, Fu Yi, and Xuan Ye all looked up at Qing Luan simultaneously.

Qing Luan nodded, then leaped lightly into the air, heading in a specific direction through the forest.

The others hurriedly followed.

Qing Luan leaped a few times before suddenly stopping. She looked around as if to get her bearings, then found an inconspicuous crack in a cliff face and slipped inside.

The crack was narrow, only allowing one person to pass at a time. It was a winding path. After following Qing Luan for an unknown distance, the view suddenly opened up. They had emerged into a cavern where a mine, shimmering with a multicolored, iridescent light, appeared before them.

As soon as Shen Daoxing stepped out, he felt a dense wave of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, along with a thick Fire Elemental Power, wash over him.

Although they were still quite a distance from the mine, Shen Daoxing could clearly feel a scorching heat, as if the very blood in his veins was about to boil.

This was a Celestial Essence Ore Vein, and without a doubt, it was a special one—a Fire Source Ore Vein.

But just as Qing Luan led them out of the crevice and before the ore vein, she suddenly pulled everyone to hide behind a large boulder.

The sound of TAP! TAP! TAP! footsteps rang out, and a few Stewards from what seemed to be some sect ambled past on the path in front of them.

Once the Stewards were far away, Qing Luan led the group out from their hiding spot and continued forward cautiously.

At this, Fu Ren couldn’t help but complain, "Damn it! We were the ones who found this Celestial Essence Ore Vein, but those bastards from the Celestial Sound Sect used their numbers to occupy it. Now we have to sneak back to our own place! This is so frustrating!"

"That’s right! That’s right! Those Celestial Sound Sect guys are so tyrannical and arrogant. They’ve always been like this, and they still are. They have absolutely no respect for our Cyan Nether Sword Sect. Our Sect Leader shouldn’t have been so lenient with them time and time again."

Fu Yi chimed in, unable to hold back his own complaints.